ConceptDraw Office gets an upgrade

 ConceptDraw Office has now been upgraded to version 8 and it contains 3 (well really 4) main packages: -

• ConceptDraw DIAGRAM v15
• ConceptDraw MINDMAP v13
• ConceptDraw PROJECT v12

There is also ConceptDraw STORE which offers access to various ConceptDraw solutions and upgrades to the main packages too.

Diagram offers professional-quality graphic solutions of all sorts for all businesses, Mindmaop is essential to strategic planning, knowledge and team management and Project provides a professional approach to portfolio and project management.

ConceptDraw Office is available both on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS and are alternative offerings to Microsoft Visio and Project.

Though the applications can run standalone for basic primitives, the flexibility comes when the Solutions are added, all 215 of them. Many are free and can be downloaded via the Store, while some are paid for and new Solutions are being added all the time.

The categories of Solutions are: -

• Building Plans
• Business Infographics
• Business Processes
• Business Productivity
• Collaboration
• Computers and Networks
• Dashboards
• Diagrams
• Finance and Accounting
• Food and Beverage
• Graphs and Charts
• Health
• Illustrations
• Industrial Engineering
• Infographics
• Management
• Maps
• Marketing
• Project Management
• Quality Management
• Science and Education
• Software Development
• Sport
• Statistical Charts

Some of these are just building blocks, while others can be connected to data to produce charts/infographics based on the data.

Examples of some of the actual building blocks

Divided Bar Chart

Financial Infographics

Sport - Baseball Field

Above infographics may be static or utilise data (such as the divided bar chart) or just a picture like the baseball field.

The applications can import Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Project, Visio, Mindmanager, Xmind and Freemind documents and export pdf, images, Outline, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Project and Visio.

There still are differences between the Windows and macOS versions such as it's only possible to explore pdf layers on the Windows version of the software.

The STORE also allows upgrading the applications and solutions

It's also possible to purchase new solutions (when a new solution is published it will have a green flag on it)

The applications can be purchased individually or as ConceptDraw Office which contains all of them.

Single user pricing is as follows: -

• ConceptDraw OFFICE 8 £399 (but seems to be £239 now)
• ConceptDraw DIAGRAM 15 £159
• ConceptDraw PROJECT 12 £239
• ConceptDraw MINDMAP 13 £159
• ConceptDraw MINDMAP 13 & PROJECT 12 £319

So Office seems a bargain at the moment.

The solutions vary in price.

If you need a suite of applications that can do mind mapping and project planning and you don't want to go the Microsoft route, this could be for you.